In the blink of an eye, Week 2 is already over! With some help from Joe, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department, we were able to weld custom parts to form a shaft couple, replacing the previous duct taped design. After taking some measurements, we finally bolted down our shredder, eliminating the need for human interference. Additionally, we did away with the funnel and crusher, so our design is significantly more compact.

At first, our team suffered from some communication issues. On top of having some interns in person and some digitally, the time delay also contributed to the miscommunication. With some overview from Dr. Holmes, we hope to work through our issues next week at our team meeting. Thankfully, the conflict is relatively minor; we all enjoy working with each other, and it seems that we are all simply adjusting to a new environment.

In an effort to reinforce team cohesion, we have begun recording meeting minutes and setting agendas and ‘homework’ for each member to follow up on. With some help from Janie, a fellow intern not in our team, we improved the formatting of our documentation as well.

On the social side of things, I attended my first concert ever, with a fellow SEED intern Wednesday night. I’d forgotten how to have fun, so I’m thankful for the amazing group of peers I have at this program. Can’t wait til Tuesday!